Star Light, Star Bright
by kmj1989
Summary: Estrella Rosana Maria Diaz trusts no one. No one cares whether she lives or dies. Then, two men sit down at her table, play with her mind and her fork, and suddenly, she finds herself with a new family. She has to learn to trust others again, and she just might fall in love, all while trying to save the world that wants her kind dead. CURRENTLY ON HIATUS WHILE I TRY TO FIND MY MUSE
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I only own what you don't recognize.**

Chapter 1

"What can I do for you two gentlemen?" I asked, a fake cheerful smile on my face. In reality, I couldn't care less what they wanted to eat, especially since I only had another fifteen minutes left of my shift.

The man with the lighter hair smiled, or should I say smirked? and said, with a faint accent, "Really, it's what can we do for you?"

My smile instantly melted into a hard line. "You can't do anything for me, but I'm sure that Marco, our bouncer, would be happy to help you out." At that, I tried to walk away, but a hand on my arm stopped me.

"I apologize for my friend," the other man said, his English accent making everything sound more polite. "What he meant is that we've come to help you."

"What could two pretty white boys help me with?" I asked, rather offended. Just because I was working as a waitress doesn't mean that I needed rescuing.

"With your little problem," the first man said with a wink.

Panic flooded my mind as I looked between the two men. They couldn't know about that. How did they know? I'd been so careful for more than a year. How did they know? "Because we are like you, Stella."

I heard the Englishman's voice, but his mouth never moved. "How did you do that?" I asked, more afraid than I had been for a while.

"I'm a telepath, which means-" he started to say, once again in my head, but I cut him off.

"I know what it means, but that's just something from comic books," I said, trying to wrap my mind around this. And against my will, hope started fluttering around in my chest. Maybe I wasn't alone after all.

"That's coming from the girl who can light up the room without any electricity," the _presumido _one said, still smirking.

"How do you know that?" I asked, slightly horrified.

"Like I told you, we're like you," the English one told me. "Is there somewhere more private that we could talk more about this?"

I looked around the room with a sarcastic smile. "As you can see, The Pelican is all about privacy," I said, gesturing to the room that, despite having enough space for thirty or more tables, held seven. And only one other was actually occupied at this time of morning. "Privacy is a guarantee here," I added, parroting the slogan of my place of employment.

_Presumido _quirked an eyebrow, possibly in amusement. "She has a point, Charles. We shouldn't be overheard here, and besides, you'd be able to tell if someone were to listen in."

"True," the Englishman, or rather, Charles, I supposed, conceded with a shrug. "Would you care for a seat, Stella?"

I considered for a moment. "I at least have to take your order, or I'm going to be fired," I finally replied.

"What would you recommend?" _Presumido _asked, that ever-present smirk still firmly fixed on his face.

"Everything's good at The Pelican," I said with an answering smirk.

"I'll take The Pelican Platter, Stella," Charles told me kindly. At least one of them wasn't trying to get me fired.

"I think I'll have coffee," _Presumido_ said. "And perhaps some toast."

"And how would you like that coffee, Sir? Black, perhaps?" Like your heart, I added silently in exasperation.

Charles let out a short laugh. Apparently, it wasn't so silently. Or my thoughts were now no longer private. "Erik's not so bad, really, not once you get to know him," Charles told me, in my head. It was a very odd way of communicating, to say the least. "I can stop, if you'd prefer," he added, grinning.

"Yes, please," I said, feeling a bit relieved. "I will get your orders right out for you, gentlemen," I added, turning to the kitchens.

"And get yourself something, too, Stella," Charles suggested. "Whatever you would like."

I shot him a quick smile before heading to the back. Once their order was ready, I headed back out, full of questions. "So how did you find me?" I asked, plunking a plate in front of _Presumido_. Or Erik, apparently.

"Please, sit, and we will explain," Charles said, getting up to pull a chair out for me.

Well, that was unexpected, I mused. I'd had a few patrons have me eat with them, but never had any hold a chair for me, like I was a lady or something. "You are a lady," Charles corrected silently. Then, he shot me an apologetic grin. "Sorry," he said out loud. "I didn't mean to hear that. You just happen to… think loudly."

"I'll work on that," I said, looking at him strangely. When he merely grinned some more, I turned to Erik. "So what can you do? Apparently Charlie here can read minds, you already know what I can do. So how about you?"

Erik looked entertained at the nickname I'd given his friend, while Charles merely looked resigned. "Watch closely," Erik advised.

"Huh?" I asked, fork poised to enter my mouth with a bite of melon. Then I gasped as my fork seemingly jerked itself out of my hand, twirled in the air for a moment, then sailed through the air to Erik's mouth.

"This is a very good melon," he said around his pilfered bite.

I simply stared in shock. Could he move things with his mind? How is that possible?

"Actually, Erik can manipulate metal. I'm the one who can move things with my mind, as you put it," Charles corrected. "Sorry, I can't seem to block your thoughts. It's not usually this hard. Interesting."

Erik shot him a concerned look, which he simply brushed off. "It's nothing. Perhaps a bit of jet lag from all the traveling we've been doing. Now, Stella, we have an offer for you. We would like you to come with us, and we can help you control your powers. You'll be accepted, be among other mutants. You needn't be scared anymore."

"Who says I'm scared?" I couldn't help it. I didn't want these two random strangers to think I was some kind of pathetic charity case they had to save. And even if they didn't, who's to say they were actually being honest with me?

"You're a young girl, on her own in Miami, currently sleeping on a coworker's couch. You work here, where the patrons have rather questionable morals and are known for equally questionable requests. If you're not scared, you're either more powerful than we realized, or very foolish. And I think we all know which one you actually are," Charles said, not unkindly.

"Why do you want to help me? What do you get out of it?" I asked suspiciously. After all, no one does something for nothing.

"Would you believe we had altruistic motives?" Charles asked. At my snort of disbelief, he grinned. "It's the truth. And you can see for yourself."

Before I had a chance to even think, I felt, well, a mental tug would be the best way to describe it. And then I was inside Charles' mind. He showed me six others, all around my age, and a few adults who looked rather official. "We are working with the CIA to catch a very dangerous mutant," he told me. "Someone who wants to start a war against humanity."

At that shock, I somehow managed to wrench myself back to my own mind. "Why would someone want to kill everyone?" I asked, completely aghast.

"Not everyone," Erik corrected. "Merely those who aren't as evolved as we are."

"So, the rest of the world?" I still couldn't wrap my head around that one. "And you somehow think I can help you stop him?"

"Well, he has a team of mutants, so we figured the best way to stop him was to have a team of our own," Charles explained. "And yes, I most definitely believe you can help us stop him. And the end of the world as we know it."

Unbidden, images started flashing before my eyes. Familiar ones, ones I'd seen for most of my life. A deserted beach, with a wrecked plane lying on it. Strangely, what looked like a submarine was also on the beach. And there were countless ships, guns trained on the beach.

"What was that?" Charles' anxious voice dragged me out of my reverie.

"You just witnessed my other power, Charles. I can see the future."

**AN: I know, you're probably wondering what I'm doing starting another story when I have Daddy's Little Girl to work on. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten Emily. I simply have another story that won't leave me alone. So I will post updates of each story at least once a week. As usual, feel free to leave reviews. I adore them! And I know it's a short chapter, but it was the perfect spot to end. I'll update soon!**

**P.S. Presumido mean smug in Spanish.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Once again, if you recognize it, I don't own it.**

Chapter 2

The looks on Erik's and Charles' faces were hysterical. Or at least they would be in a less tense moment. "You can… Come again?" Erik finally said.

"You heard me just fine, Kraut," I said, finally pinning his accent down. And feeling rather pleased with myself for it.

"Well, excuse me if I'm a bit surprised that a tiny Spick girl can see the future," he said, without any real anger behind it. And I wasn't too upset by the slur, since I did start it.

"Let's get through this without any more name calling, shall we?" Charles said dryly, like he was used to dealing with Erik.

"Okay, so you say you need my help to save the world. What if I don't want to go?"

"You'd rather stay here?" Erik asked, raising that eyebrow sardonically. "Then, by all means, stay. We're not going to force you to come."

"But, if you did come, you would have a place to stay, food to eat, clothes to wear, and people who care about you," Charles added. "People who accept you for what you are. For who you are."

"That does sound a bit better than sleeping on Susan's couch," I admitted. "Alright, I'm in."

Both men exchanged a smile, while Charles pulled out his wallet. Laying some bills on the table, he stood up. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Just then, Mr. Morgan, my boss and the owner of The Pelican, came over. "Gentlemen, I hope you weren't leaving so soon," he said, smiling over-brightly. Then he cast a dirty look my direction. "And especially not because of Stella here."

"Actually, it is," Erik said, standing as well. Mr. Morgan's face became stormy as he turned to yell at me, but Erik cut him off. "And we're taking her with us."

"I quit," I said cheerfully, tugging my apron from my waist.

Morgan blustered. "What? You can't- I won't- You can't just leave!" he finally forced out.

Erik stepped closer, his impressive height scaring Morgan into silence. "She can, and she is. Good day."

Charles stepped around the little man and took my arm. "Let's get your things, and we'll be off, Stella. It's a bit of a long flight we've got ahead of us."

"You're nothing but a lousy whore!" Morgan screamed after us.

I froze, but I had two champions to rescue me. "Isn't that what you were trying to make of her?" Erik asked incredulously. "You're nothing but a lousy pimp."

Charles simply held two fingers to his temple, and Morgan collapsed in a heap. "He won't be bothering anyone for quite a while," he explained. "Now, Stella, do we need to stop somewhere to pick your things up?"

Once we'd stopped by Susan's apartment to pick up what pathetically little I possessed, Charles drove us to a nearby airfield. There was a private airplane waiting for us, and as soon as we were settled, it took off.

I was a bit apprehensive, since I'd never been on a plane before in my life. Cars, I could handle that. Boats, sure. But planes? Not so much. My hands were clenching the armrests, white-knuckled. Charles laughed softly when he noticed. "Nothing's going to happen, Stella. We will be fine."

Erik snorted. "It's perfectly fine to be nervous, Charles. After all, if man were meant to fly, he would have wings. Instead, only Angel does."

"I can't believe that Angel is the only mutant on earth with wings. Or even the power to fly. I believe that Sean, given the proper training and equipment, could be able to fly. Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Stella. We shouldn't be talking about people you don't know like this. Angel and Sean are two of our fellow mutants. Along with Hank, Darwin, and Alex. And my sister, Raven," Charles explained, then went on to describe everyone (complete with mental pictures) so well that I felt like I had known them all my life, or at least as long as he had.

We finally landed at Langley, at CIA headquarters. Agent MacTaggart and Raven, Charles' sister, greeted us. "Charles!" Raven squealed, literally throwing herself at him, and trusting him to catch her. What would that be like, to trust someone else so completely? I wondered.

"You can find out," Charles' voice said in my head. "And I promise that I will try to stay out of your mind, just as soon as I figure out how to tune you out."

Then, out loud, he introduced me. "Stella, I would like you to meet my sister, Raven, and Agent Moira MacTaggart. Ladies, Estrella Diaz."

"Please, call me Stella," I mumbled, not used to so many people paying such close attention to me.

"Welcome to Division X," Raven said, all cute and bubbly. She was the epitome of what every girl wanted to look like: long blonde hair, big blue eyes, creamy, pale skin, and tall, graceful height. Next to her, I felt like a reject Latina Barbie: short, dark and frumpy. But then I noticed something. Raven sounded American, while Charles sounded English. How did that work?

"I'm adopted," Raven said, smiling at my confused look. "And before you ask, no, I'm not a telepath. I save that for Charlie. I'm just very used to that question."

"I'm very glad to meet you, but I'm afraid I have some very crucial things to discuss with Charles and Erik," Agent MacTaggart said apologetically.

"Of course," I stammered, not really sure what to do, then.

Charles came to my rescue, yet again. "Raven will show you the place, introduce you to the others. Right, Raven?"

"Absolutely," she said happily, taking my hand. "You're going to love it here."

As Raven showed me around, I found that, even though she was everything I wanted to be, I couldn't make myself dislike her. She was just so happy and kind. Probably a product of growing up safe and loved.

She finally showed me to the rec room, where the rest of the mutants were. "Hey, everybody! We have a new recruit! This is, I'm so sorry, but I can't pronounce your name! I've always been terrible at Spanish!" she apologized.

I couldn't help but smile at her. "Estrella Diaz," I replied.

A boy about my age with a shock of red hair and freckles, who I knew to be Sean, tried my name out. "Ast- Est- Astr-"

"You Yanqis can call me Stella," I said, taking pity on him.

"We needed some more Latin blood in this group," said a tall, absolutely gorgeous girl to the left. "I'm Angel," she added, shaking my hand.

"I'm Hank," the tall, quiet, slightly-geeky looking guy said.

"I'm Sean."

"Darwin," a tall black man said.

"Alex," came from the last member of the group.

I could hear my Tia Rosana in my head as Alex came to shake my hand. "Never trust a pretty white boy, Estrella. Especially not with your heart."

"Hi," I squeaked, feeling rather out of place.

"Well, now that everyone's here, why don't we get to know each other a bit more?" Raven suggested.

Apparently, Raven's version of getting to know each other meant cracking open the fridge in the corner, getting everyone a soda, and turning on some music. Soon enough, we all had something to drink, and we all were sitting in some semblance of a circle. "We should think of code names," Raven said excitedly. "We're government agents now, we should have secret code names. I wanna be called Mystique."

Sean sighed dramatically. "Damn. I wanted to be called Mystique."

Raven replied, "Well, tough! I called it." And suddenly, we had two Seans. "And I'm way more mysterious than you."

Everyone clapped as she turned back into herself. Then, she asked, "Well, what about you?" to Sean.

"I wanna be… Banshee!" he said, face lighting up.

Hank looked confused. "Why would you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" I sort of thought the same.

"You may want to cover your ears," Sean said, standing up and leaning over so he was even with a glass on the table between us all. With some concern, and more than a bit of confusion, we all did as he requested. Then, he let out a sound a bit like a whistle, and, instead of the glass, the window shattered. We all laughed at the "oops" sort of look on his face.

Then Raven asked Angel. "My stage name is Angel," she started as she took off her jacket, and Sean let out a quick wolf-whistle. Ignoring him, she continued, "And it sort of fits." The tattoos on her back moved, then actually lifted off her skin to become wings.

"You can fly?" Raven exclaimed, sounding a bit jealous.

Angel looked pretty smug. "Uh huh, and…" She then turned and spit. Turned out her spit was acidic, as the statue outside found out. Everyone applauded.

Raven then turned to Darwin. "So, Darwin, what's your name?"

He stood up. "Well, Darwin's already a nickname, and it kinda fits. 'Adapt to survive' and all. Check this." Then he walked over to the aquarium, and before anyone could stop him, put his head in it. We all gasped in shock, which then turned into awe when gills popped out on his neck. We all applauded as he dramatically pulled his head back out. "Thanks! And how about you?" he asked Hank.

Hank looked a bit apprehensive, but he slowly pulled his shoes and socks off. We all looked at his exposed feet with various expressions. They were huge.

"How about 'Bigfoot'?" Alex suggested lowly.

"Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet, and yours are kinda small," Raven shot back without missing a beat.

Darwin took pity on Alex, asking him what his power was. Alex merely shook his head. "I can't do it in here," he protested.

"Could you do it out there?" Darwin asked, voicing everyone's curiosity. We all jumped in, egging him on, until he finally gave in.

"Fine, but when I say get back, get back," Alex said, jumping through the window. We all crowded around the edge, like little kids waiting for a show. "Get back!" he warned. We all did, for about three seconds. Alex shook his head again, and started sort of rocking. After a few seconds of rocking, he suddenly let off three rings of some sort of red light that went off in different directions. Two went wild, but one sheared off the top of the statue Angel had previously defaced. Literally.

"You are definitely Havok," Hank declared.

Once everyone calmed down, because the cheering that went on for Alex's show lasted for a while, he turned to me. "So Stella, what's your trick?" The others turned to me, like they'd almost forgotten I was there. Which was actually what I was going for.

Since I was now in the spotlight, I blushed a bit, but with my skin tone, I was hoping no one would be able to tell. Then I concentrated for a brief moment, before saying, "Look up."

Everyone did, and there was a resounding "Ooooh," from all around. "That's awesome, Stella!" Sean said, pointing to my ball of light bouncing around the ceiling.

"Does that require any thought to keep it up there?" Hank asked, definitely into his scientist mode.

"Not once I make it, no. After I make it, it just kinda floats along until I put it out. Or it burns out. Whichever comes first," I answered.

"That is so cool!" Raven squealed. "It's like your own personal light bulb!"

"Your name is totally Star," Sean decreed.

"That's what her name means, in Spanish," Alex said. We all stared at him. "What? I'm right, aren't I?" he asked defensively.

"Yes, but how does a Yanqui white boy like you know that?" I retorted.

"I took Spanish in school, okay? It's one of the few words I actually remember." Alex looked distinctly uncomfortable.

Raven graciously changed the topic. "So we all have our names, but what about Charles and Erik? They totally need groovy code names, too. I was thinking Charles should be Professor X. It sounds like some spy or something. And he technically is a professor now."

"Erik could be Magneto, since he controls metal," Hank offered.

Raven shot him a grateful look, to which he promptly blushed. "And now that we all have our new code names, we need to celebrate!" she yelled, then pulled out some beer for us all.

Everyone else got into it, but I was still uncomfortable. I didn't really know them, and I felt like the odd man out. That is, until Raven found some Cuban records and made me dance with her. This was my music. I could most definitely dance to it.

"Damn, girl, you can dance," Darwin said appreciatively.

"Of course I can! I'm Cubana!" I said, feeling rather good about myself.

The party was going so well. Even Hank got into it, taking his shoes off again and seeing how long he could hang onto the chandelier with his overly large feet. The rest of us danced and laughed, letting off steam and actually allowing ourselves to be the teenagers we were. I was pretty sure I wasn't the only one who had needed to grow up quickly.

And then the adults came back. Charles, Erik, and Agent MacTaggart came back and were horrified by the disaster our showing off had created. "What are you doing?" Agent MacTaggart yelled. "Who destroyed the statue?"

Hank, unable to tell a lie in his mildly inebriated state, piped up. "It was Alex."

"No, Havok. We have to call him Havok. That's his name now. And we were thinking you should be Professor X, and Erik should be Magneto," Raven gushed, in a rather drunken slur.

"Exceptional," Erik said to Charles in disgust. He then turned around and walked out.

Charles looked at Raven. "I expected more from you," he said lowly, then turned to follow Erik.

"You will clean this up," Agent MacTaggart ordered. "All of this."

Somehow, none of us felt as good as we had just a few minutes ago. But none of us looked as crushed as Raven, who looked as if her whole world had been ripped out from beneath her.

**AN: Sorry it's a day late, but I'm going to make it up by posting another chapter this week. This chapter was a bit longer, and more than just the intro the last one was. Hope you all like it!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: It all belongs to Marvel. Sadly, I do not own Marvel. That is all Disney.**

Chapter 3

After we'd cleaned up what we could of the mess we'd made, everyone slinked off toward their rooms. Raven had shown me the room that was to be mine, so I didn't have to bother anyone else. I practically fell into bed, not even bothering to change my clothes.

Thankfully, I hadn't had much to drink, so I didn't have a hangover the next morning. Instead, I was able to just lay there, marveling over the changes that had come so suddenly into my life. Somehow, I'd gone from waitressing at a place where waitresses were whatever the patrons wanted them to be, terrified that I might accidentally hurt someone with my powers, to having a place where I was accepted for who and what I was, no judging. All in the space of twenty-four hours.

I eventually got up and dressed for the day. I made my way back to the rec room, where Raven had told me breakfast was always waiting for us. Surprisingly, I wasn't the first one there.

"Raven! What's wrong?" I asked, very concerned. The bubbly girl I'd met the night before was gone, and in her place, a morose, weepy girl.

"Charles left, without me," she said, turning to face me. "He took Erik and Moira," here sarcastic emphasis practically strangled the word, "but he left me. He always promised to take me with him wherever he went." And then she dissolved into tears, throwing herself on me.

I patted her back awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. "I'm sure he had a good reason," I tried my hand at soothing. It failed miserably.

"It's because I'm too irresponsible," she wailed. "Last night proved we are all too immature!"

Personally, I agreed, but I didn't think I should share that with her. I definitely didn't feel ready to go… wherever it was the adults had gone to. "He'll be back," I assured.

Eventually, I got Raven to eat something, which seemed to help. And then she agreed when I suggested more sleep. I was fairly sure she was hungover, or possibly still drunk. Either way, she seemed very grateful when I took her back to her bedroom.

After that little episode, I had nothing to do. No one else was up, or at least I didn't see any evidence of others. So I wandered around our little portion of the complex. Until I found the library. And then I didn't leave for several hours.

"What are you doing in here?" Alex's voice startled me, making me drop my book.

Shooting him an annoyed look, I picked my book back up before standing up. "Do you not know what libraries are for?" I asked, derision covering my discomfort at him finding me. I wasn't sure why I was so uncomfortable around Alex, I simply knew that I was.

"Have you been in here all day?" he asked, ignoring my sarcasm.

"What time is it?" I asked another question instead of answering his.

"It's nearly four. Raven was worried about you, so we were all looking for you," he answered.

"It's four?!" I'd found the library around nine that morning, so apparently, I'd been reading for seven hours. As I made that realization, my stomach let out a growl, announcing the fact that I hadn't eaten since breakfast with Raven.

Alex grinned. "C'mon, we'll find Raven, and then get you some food."

I wasn't happy with the idea of following him, but I didn't have much choice. Especially since I couldn't remember how to get back to the rec room from there.

Raven hugged me dramatically after we found her. "I thought you'd been kidnapped by Shaw or something," she sighed. "Don't ever do that again!"

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I was reading and lost track of time."

"Oh no! We have another nerd! I thought Hank was bad enough," Sean moaned jokingly.

"Hey, this nerd is the reason Charles and Erik found you," Raven said, pointing to Hank. "And this nerd is adorable, so be nice," she added, wrapping an arm around me.

Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time reading. Raven learned that if she wanted to find me to first look in the library. Hank and I got on rather well, with him explaining theories and formulas to me. I soaked everything up like a sponge. "Why didn't you go to college?" he asked me one afternoon.

I laughed hollowly. "I haven't even finished high school, Hank. After my… family died, I've been working, just trying to scrape by. College just isn't in my future."

That night, we were all in the rec room, just hanging out together. As usual, I was pretty quiet, more content to listen to the others than really saying anything myself. The window had been fixed, and we had the curtain open so we could see the sunset. Or more appropriately, I was watching the sunset, while the others were talking to each other.

Two agents walked by, and they stopped to mock us. "I didn't know the circus was in town," one muttered to the other, though it was loud enough for us to hear.

"C'mon, sweetheart," his friend said to Angel. "Give us a little show," he added, wiggling in a poor attempt to imitate a stripper.

Angel only glared at them, and they moved on to the rest of us. As they were mocking Hank, he got up and closed the curtain so we couldn't see them any more. We could still hear them, but eventually they got bored and moved on. Unfortunately, their words stayed with us. It seemed to bother Angel most.

"Hey, it's just guys being stupid," Raven soothed.

"I can handle guys being stupid," Angel retorted with feeling. "I've handled that my whole life. But I'd rather have men stare at me with my clothes off than the way they stare at me with them on."

"At us," Alex said morosely. "It's at all of us."

"Hey, we're a team now. We are in this together, all of us," Raven said stoutly. "If they pick on one of us, they get all of us."

I grinned at her adorable enthusiasm, but felt it was a bit naive. After all, we hardly knew each other. Would any of them be willing to stand up for me after they found out about my past?

I was left to my rather depressing musings, while everyone else did their own thing. Hank read a book, completely absorbed in its depths. Darwin and Alex played pinball in a corner, while Sean watched. Angel was glaring at the wall, clearly lost in her own thoughts, as well. And Raven decided to play with my hair. "It's so thick and pretty," she gushed.

After a short while, I heard some sort of thud from outside. And as I did, a flash of something danced across my eyes. I didn't understand it, at least not in time.

Darwin had heard the sound, too, and opened the curtain to see what it was. Everyone strained to see a speck that was falling from the sky. A speck that turned out to be a CIA agent, screaming as he met the ground.

Alarms started blaring across the whole compound, and other agents came flooding out the buildings, armed to the teeth. "Do not leave that room!" one of them screamed at us. We girls screamed back as he disappeared in a cloud of red smoke.

We watched as a red-skinned man appeared behind another agent, then he grinned and wrapped his arms around the poor man. He then disappeared, appearing again in the middle of the air, where he let go of the agent. This happened again and again, while what looked like a tornado ripped through Hank's Cerebro and the surrounding area, sucking up agents and sending them flying.

"I'm not just going to stay here," Darwin pronounced, heading toward the door. We all followed him, though I only did so to not be left alone. Somehow, I doubted I was the only one to feel that way. I had been the furthest from the door, but Alex waited for me, letting me exit before him. I had the oddest sense that he was protecting me.

As a group, we headed down the hall, toward the sound of bullets. One agent guarding the way yelled at us to go back. "We can help!" most of the others screamed, but when a huge explosion rocked the entire compound, we ran back to the rec room, Alex practically dragging me as he went.

We huddled close together, with Darwin in front, arms spread wide to protect us all. Windows on either side of the room shattered. As we watched the red man dropping people from the sky and the tornado sucking more people up, all I could think was It's happening again. It's happening again.

One of the agents guarding our door started yelling. "You want the mutants? They're right through there! Just let us normal people-" He was cut off by his own scream. And then our doors blew open. And I would have fallen to the floor if not for Alex's grip on my arms.

One man entered through the doors, while his friends came in through the windows they'd shattered. "Where's the telepath?" he asked them.

"Not here," one answered.

"Too bad," he sighed. "Ah, well, at least I get to take this silly thing off." He slipped the metal helmet off his head, then looked at us. "My name is Sebastian Shaw, and I'm not here to hurt you."

That was the last straw for me. "You hurt everyone around you, Shaw!" I spat, lunging for him. I would have clawed his eyes out, if not for Alex's arms around me.

"Estrella! What a wonderful surprise! I didn't expect to see you here, though I really shouldn't be surprised," he said pleasantly, like he was genuinely happy to see me.

"I shouldn't be surprised to see you in the middle of so much death, Asesino!" Alex still held me tight, but I was not about to stop fighting to get to that man. The man responsible for my mother's death.

"Well, when one is creating a new world order, there will be some sacrifices made," Shaw said reasonably.

"My mother was not a sacrifice," I shouted. "You murdered her!"

"Actually, I was here to save Victoria. The others there were the ones to kill her," he corrected, finally showing some emotion.

"Why should I believe you? Why would you save her?"

"Because, not only was she a talented mutant, she was also the mother of my child," Shaw said, smirking at the revelation.

The world fell from under me. That man, that diablo, could not be my father. "It is true," he told me, reveling in the knowledge. "Victoria was a lovely woman, so sweet and innocent. Nothing like the harpies she called sisters. No, Rosana and Maria never liked me."

No, I was pretty sure he was the reason my Tias always told me to distrust pretty white boys. But while I was still reeling from the news, Shaw started talking to the others. "My friends," he said, "there's a revolution coming. When mankind discovers who we are, what we can do, each of us will face a choice. Be enslaved or rise up to rule. Choose freely, but know that if you are not with us, then by definition, you are against us. So, you can stay and fight for the people who hate and fear you. Or you can join me, and live like kings." The he held a hand out to Angel. "And queens."

She hesitated for a moment, before taking his hand. "Angel?" Raven asked incredulously.

"Are you kiddin' me?" Alex said from behind me, where he still had his arms around me protectively.

"Come on," Angel told us, gaining confidence as she spoke. "We don't belong here. And there's nothing to be ashamed of. We shouldn't have to hide who we are."

She looked at each of us, begging us to come with her. She caught my eye last, but I couldn't understand how the girl who seemed to live for fun could go with someone who had killed so many people in such a short time without any remorse. I shook my head slightly, but it was enough for her to see. And Shaw.

"Come with us, Estrella. Come with me. I'm your father. I'll protect you, teach you how to control your powers you fear so much. Come take your place at my side, where you belong," he cajoled.

"Where I belong?" I questioned. "If I belong with you, where were you for the last seventeen years? When my mother died, you simply walked away. When my tias died, you didn't even bother to show up. So don't think you can show up now and I'll be the dutiful daughter."

"Alright, you had your chance," Shaw told all of us. He then led his little band, with Angel in tow, out through the window.

"We have to do something," Darwin said lowly. "We can't just let him take Angel."

He and Alex conferred for a moment, before he followed Shaw. "Wait, I'm coming with you," he called.

Shaw turned back and smiled. In his smile, I saw a brief flash of the future. "Now!" Darwin called to Alex.

"No!" I screamed, as Alex let out a ring of red energy. It went straight for Shaw, who somehow managed to catch it and absorb it.

"Protecting your fellow mutants? That's a noble gesture. Feels good," Shaw told him.

Darwin then tried to punch him, but Shaw blocked it, grabbing him by the throat. "Adapt to this," he said maliciously, shoving Alex's energy down Darwin's throat. He dropped Darwin, walked over to his group, and vanished.

Meanwhile, Darwin's body was frantically trying to adapt to cope with the raw energy in his body. He became pure metal, than stone, before going back to his normal form. His chest was glowing red as he looked at us one final time, before crumbling to dust.

Alex looked devastated. He practically dropped to the ground, in shock. Sean went over and put his arm around him, but it was like Alex didn't even know he was there.

Then, Raven turned to me. "When you yelled no, were you just trying to save your father or something?" she asked, angrier than I'd ever seen her.

"No," I answered quietly. "Shaw can rot in hell for all I care. I saw what happened to Darwin, just before Alex… before it happened. I can sometimes see the future. Not that it ever helps."

"Oh," she replied, her anger dropping just as suddenly as it had come. And then, it turned into tears. "We are going to make Shaw pay for this. He killed Darwin, and we are going to fight back."

**AN: Did anyone see that plot twist coming? Yes, Shaw is Stella's father, and the reason for those warnings her tias gave her. By the way, Asesino is murderer/assassin in Spanish. Diablo means devil, and tias means aunt, for anyone who doesn't know. Thanks for the reviews/favorites/follows. They totally make my day. I'll try to get the next chapter up by Thursday, since my weekend's going to be crazy busy. Friday at the latest, I swear. Thanks for reading!**


End file.
